


The proud members of the BDF

by DrMcNastyPhD



Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), Dungeons & Dragons - All Media Types
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:35:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26743003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DrMcNastyPhD/pseuds/DrMcNastyPhD
Summary: With Bella being the way she is, it is hard for normal people to keep track of her. her habit of wandering off seemingly instantly is troubling's to all but those who have been with her for years.  Being a noble in a foreign land she needs to be protected and thus the Bella defense force was created.These are the tales of their first days on the job.





	1. Brief

Characters: 

Symbol/patch:  


**Day 0: Briefing**

It started out the same as a bad joke would. A warforged, a human, and a bird walk into a meeting. In said meeting were, the aforementioned 3, a hulking goliath with the biggest grin on his face, a human looking woman with what appeared to be ruffled hair and a halfling sitting at the table reading a time that appeared to be at least half her size. 

The woman was known as Phaele and is heralded to be a child of a god, or as the soldiers in her personal army claim.It is said that she can control the temperature around her immediate area and this ability was proven true by upon entering the room the 3 felt a 15 degree drop compared to outside the door. The goliath is Neokan, leader of said army, high ranking official from his home country, Goria, and bodyguard to pheale. From what the attendees of the meeting could parce from the few times they had seen the 2 outside, it appears that they have some connection beyond bodyguard and protectee. Something akin to older brother/younger sister or annoying father and rebellious daughter. Whatever it was he seemed to enjoy messing with her whenever he could, which as her bodyguard he had many opportunities. 

Without fixing her hair Phaele proceeded to start the briefing. 

“After reviewing the profiles of everyone here I have chosen the 3 of you for your seperate strengths for a very important mission” She walks over to Bella,who has not looked up from her book once and placed a hand atop the halflings head “protect this one here.”   
  
“Isn't she some all powerful witch capable of commanding an army of undead, why exactly are we needed?” chimed in Chidi, having heard that tidbit from the army as well. At the mention of undead Bella looks up from her book for a moment, then after no sign of undead around returns to it.    
  
“How the hell do you kno- never mind that. Yes she is a powerful  _ mage _ and she does know a bit of necromancy. She is very smart and as much as it pains me to admit this, might be smarter than me. The reason I called you here is because she lacks any common sense or self awareness in any situation that's not about dead things and not a fight.” To prove this point Phaele calmly takes the book from Bella’s hands and holds it above her head. The short halfling begins reaching for the book making strained grunts like a child reaching for the countertop to grab a cookie from a plate. 

“Phaeeeellllee give it baaaack”

Phaele returns the book. 

“She could have used her magic, or any number of ways to get the book back but that's how she responded. Thus the need for you. It's simple, you guys take shifts and follow her around and make sure she doesn't get into much trouble Mostly she just reads but sometimes she-” She gestures into the empty chair where Bella used to be. “Does that”

The 3 recruits look around the room and find no trace of the halfling, or the goliath for that matter. How had they left without anyone noticing? At that moment Neokan returns to the room carrying Bella tucked under an arm. He places her back in her seat and returns to his own. Bella has traded her book for what appears to be a container of pudding and a spoon. 

“As you can see, she moves surprisingly fast for something so small and adorable. Unfortunately we are not back home where most people know who she is and understand the consequences of bothering her. We are on the border of a warring country, in a strange land, and whilst technically both of our bodyguards, Neokan can not be in 2 places at once. No matter how much I pleaded with him to choose bella and leave me to my devices he claims that someone has to make sure I ‘eat regularly’ and ‘take care of myself.’” she said the last 2 lines with air quotes. “ So I leave the task of caring for bella to you.”  
  
She hands each of them a patch, it has 2 hands holding up a shield with the letters “BDF” on the edges of the shield. 

“Welcome to the Bella Defense Force, with these badges you will have some leeway in most situations that arise given its not too extreme, but hey that's the job. To make sure it does not escalate to that point. You can work out the schedule amongst yourselves. We will have a monthly report meeting. Your job starts now” She points to the empty chair with a licked clean bowl and spoon sitting on it. “Good luck”


	2. Day one: Ouss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ouss' turn

A quick discussion outside the meeting room settled the scheduling. I would get her the first 2 days of the week, Chidi would get her the next 2 days, then Temple the next pair, and we would all work the last day.

Since it was decided that today was one of my days I found the nearest window and jumped out of it. I unfurled my wings and went up to about 300 feet scanning for the halfling. If it hadn't been for her patented blue cloak I doubt I would have found her. I caught the tail end of it heading into the forest. On the opposite side of the gate to the keep. About 200 yards away from the wall. 

“How the fuck did she even get that far in 2 minutes!?”

I was able to catch up to her easily from the air, it appears her teleportation power only works when you can’t see her, and the sight I saw made me decide to keep to the sky for a while. It appears that the tales of her being some sort of witch were true.After about 100 feet into the forest she took out several crystals and threw them on the ground. Out of those spots came 5 ghouls that seemed to form a protective circle around her as she walked. 

“Seriously why are we even needed?” I thought to myself.

While walking around the forest she seemed to be collecting random flora and fungi. Sometimes her ghouls would run off on their own and they would come back chewing on a squirrel or rabbit or something but they generally stayed close to her. She then sat under a tree and proceeded to read for several hours. I sat on a sturdy branch on a nearby try and decided to sew that patch on to my clothes. A couple of times the ghouls came sniffing around my tree but I was pretty high up and if they tried to climb I could just fly to another tree.   
  
**5 hours later**

The sun had begun to set and it casted its orange glow all over the forest. From my perch it was really pretty, the rays finding gaps between the canopy of leaves, the contrast between the light and dark visible in the air. The patterns that were cast on the ground. Real pretty. I turned to my left to do my regular ten minute check on the situation with Bella. Still under that tree, still sleeping. She fell asleep a few hours ago and was still snoring. I dont get how one can sleep with those ghouls around. They must stink, and even ignoring that how can you have so much trust in such an infernal creature? I guess being the one to summon them gives you immunity to their limitless hunger.

Speaking of the ghouls, I should check up on them. I scanned the area looking for them. I saw 3. Weren't there more of them? The other ones went off a while ago but even if they were hunting they should have been back by now. One of them sniffed the air and dashed into a bush.

For a few seconds the air is filled with loud growls and the sounds of animals fighting. Then it is quiet again. The ghouls did not return. Sitting up from my relaxed position I grab my bow and wait silently. Suddenly a pack of wolves approach the tree Where Bella sleeps. The two remaining ghouls take up defensive positions around their master. Who is still sleeping soundly.   
  
“Come on Bella wake up. Wake the fuck up” I mutter under my breath as I take out 2 arrows and nock them 

Unfortunately I would not be so lucky as to have that wish granted. Several of the wolves attack the 2 ghouls while the leader, or so I assume since it's the biggest, goes after Bella.

“Shit!” I loose my 2 arrows and dive from the tree unfurling my wings. The 2 arrows strike home in the flank of the wolf but they appear to only annoy it. But it's all the time I need. As I dive I drop my bow and scoop up the halfling into my arms and take off towards the keep. She’s surprisingly heavy but I can assume it's from all the shit she keeps on her person and the book. I make a mental note to return to get my bow 

About 5 minutes into the 15 minute flight back to the keep Bella woke up. Her only words were “Wow” and “It’s so pretty” and “we’re so high up!” I assume this must be a first for her as I doubt many flightless species get to experience sunsets from this altitude.   
  
We land in the middle of the courtyard of the keep, many soldiers looking slightly alarmed before they recognize us and go back to their jobs. I muttered something about losing my bow and hoping it was still there when I checked tomorrow and I guess that struck a nerve somewhere in Bella as she began dragging me into the keep

We arrived outside of the room she shared with Phaele and she told me to wait here and pointed to the sign above the door. “No boys allowed” what were they, fucking children? Anyway Bella goes in and begins talking with Phaele about having something that she didn't want anymore. Phaele says something along the lines of “sure, whatever” and Bella exits the room with something that appears to be a bow. Well, it's obviously a bow, there is no way it could not be a bow. But it was different than any bow I've ever seen before. Instead of being made of wood it was made of metal and instead of a single string there appeared to be several strings (or maybe one very long one?) going along some pulley system using pulleys on both the top and the bottom of the shape. She handed it to me and I gave it a test pull. It pulled easier than my old bow but when I released the string had over double the force my old one had.    
  
“....And this is for me?” I asked   
“Yeah you lost your old one.”   
“For free?”   
“On one conditions”   
There is always a fucking catch “what?”

She gripped my pant leg and looked up at me with the same eyes a child would give when they know they did something bad. “Please don't tell Phaele I had my ghouls out. She gets mad whenever I do it. I don't want her to yell at me again. Please don't tell her.”

Looking at that face it was hard to even imagine denying her. I mean, all I lost was a normal bow, if I needed to I could have just bought a new one. Instead I got a one of a kind bow at no real loss.

Finally giving in to those puppy eyes I agreed to keep her ghouls a secret from her friend in exchange for the super cool bow. She turned to go back and I started to walk to my quarters when once again I felt a familiar small humanoid attach itself to my leg.

“What is it now?”   
“Can you make me fly again later? I felt super tall.”

Once again there’s that fucking face. “Yeah sure, why not?”

“Ok”

When I return back to my room I ponder over the past day’s events. It had been 90% boring, 5 percent stressful, and 5% profitable.(I mean look at this sweet ass bow!) At first I thought this job was gonna be a worthless pain in the ass. Spending my time following around some supposedly smart hafling who if she really wanted could probably take out this keep by herself. And with the way she ignored all of us in the meeting, I thought she didn't even know I existed. But within my first day I already got a wonderful new toy, a potential friend and I'm still getting paid for spending entire days walking around. 

“This job ain't half bad” I think to myself as I drift off to sleep.


	3. Day three: Chidi

_ I can’t believe Ive been reduced to fuckinng babysitting. _ Here I am, one of the best mages to bless this side of the continent with my presence, walking what supposedly is a mage far greater than me despite being half my size around some fucking village in the middle of nowhere. 

Hard to believe this person is supposed to be my elder by at least 2 years. She looks like a child at times and acts like it all the time. Hard to surprise, she can even feed herself. True to the warnings of Ouss, I’ve lost track of her 3 times in the first hour of my shift. I swear she’s casting misty steps or something, nothing that small should be able to move so fast. Also true to his warning she can only seem to access this power when not in direct eyesight, which was hard to do when walking next to her since she exists below the natural perspective of any normal sized person. To combat this I’ve taken to following at a 10 foot distance for a wider field of view and to keep her in my sight at all times.

The worst part is that it appears she considers me no more than a common servant. She didn't spare a single glance at me during our orientation meeting, though her friend certainly couldn't take her eyes off me. And when meeting her today she said nothing more than a polite “Good morning” before wandering off with me in tow. It's obvious she comes from money, her nice, well cared for robes, the large times she’s reading half the time. The way she carries herself. And it pisses me the fuck off. How dare she treat  _ Me  _ like some fucking handmaiden. If the job didn't pay well and I wasn't assured she was someone special back in her country I would have given her a stern talking to. As if she’d understand it anyway. Seriously what is she? She’s friends with the proclaimed daughter of a goddess, she arrived with a foreign army at her back and is treated like fucking royalty by those around her. That behemoth of a man Neokan is at her beck and call as long as she’s with Phaele, even the soldiers she brought with her bow to her when we walk by. I saw a soldier chasing some farm girl's skirt (and looking like he was about to seal the deal) tell the girl to “hold on a second” walk over to Bella, kneel in front of her and ask her if she needed anything. Bella didn't even look at him and responded “no, im fine” and he went right back to the farm girl finding this goal has stretched ever so further into distance. Of course it did, what girl would like a potential suitor to blatantly put another woman above her in such grandiose fashion directly in front of her?

Looking around the town simultaneously makes me question why my job exists and proves to me why it does. Despite a lot of people knowing who she is, that does not stop the ones who dont from try to rob and steal from her. Since morning I’ve discretely taken care of several potential ne'er do wells, non-lethally of course. Since the change of ownership and the sudden demand for major construction the town has had a swelling of population. Traders importing materials needed for the construction, the soldiers from the army camped outside, soldiers from the OTHER army camped about a day away, the mercenary group that hangs around the leadership, and travelers seeking to put faces to the stories about the “heroes who saved a city from the the wrath of the gods.” what were they called again? “The Nine who withstood.” 

Their story was almost too much to believe but that's why I, and all the other potential mercenaries came here, to confirm for themselves if the legends were true and seek employment.  _ Instead I get stuck with this shit _ . I think, watching bella wander off in a direction to go ask the poor merchant a question he is most assuredly not prepared to answer. I mean,why them? Why did they choose those 3? Well 2. Dagmar looks to be as capable as she is beautiful, so that's understandable. But why the others? They took what equates to a common whore and an iguana who flunked out of wizard school with them to “save the world.” It’s asinine that those 2 were chosen over me.

My mind cuts from the infuriating circumstances to yet another potential villain attempting to rob my oblivious charge. This one seems a bit dangerous, he’s obviously clutching a dagger beneath his cloak and he’s approaching fast. I hope this fake ass badge actually has some leeway in local law because it's time to set an example.

It took 2 attempts for me to understand what in the fuck was happening. I decided to go with the tried and true firebolt to take care of this one. The flames danced across my fingertips as I conjured the power of fire and shot it at the would be assassin/mugger. Only to have them fizzle out after going a certain distance. He was about 10 feet and closing to Bella. I quickly figured I must have made some simple mistake in my casting and quickly tired again. Same result. An immediate scan of what scenario made me quickly realize what was happening. All of the other people I've taken care of were preventative actions. A quick sending to let them know not to, maybe a mage hand to do something to put them off or whatever. But they were all at least 20 feet away when I intervened. These spells were aimed past Bella. Directly past Bella.  _ This little whore is fucking counterspelling me. HOW!? She isn't even looking at me. I’m BEHIND her. _

5 feet and closing. I wouldn't have another shot at a spell, besides it would get counterspelled anyway. Well I guess it's time to put that obligatory self defense class we were forced to take. I misty step my way between Bella and the attacker, shoving her out of the way with my hips. The first swipe was too fast for me to account for, sliced my arm pretty good, not deep but not that shallow either, and tore my shirt pretty bad. One the second swing was able to deflect the knife away and landed a square hit to his chine. That’s about all I had time to do before he was swarmed by a gaggle of the foreign soldiers who happened to be nearby. As I decided that my job was done and turned to look for Bella I thought  _ Man they are kicking the  _ **_shit_ ** _ out of him. Good.  _

Didn't have to look far for Bella. As my hip check seems to have thrown off her low center of gravity and she was lying face first on the ground beside me.  _ Oh great. I ruined a perfectly good shirt. Got slashed, and now I'm going to get fired for assaulting my charge. _ I immediately crouched and sat her up. “Are you ok?” She had some scratches and gravel on her face and it was very hard to stay professional as the sight stirred up deep maternal instincts I didn't think I even had. Hate the little shits. But she looked like when a toddler falls over near her mother. I was waiting for the crying and the yelling that a typical rich,noble would do after being “attacked” by her bodyguard. 

I found no such thing. Instead I found her looking at my arm and going “you’re hurt.” I look down and notice its bleeding quite a bit. “Nah, Im fine.” Looking at the arm and the ruined shit I think  _ welp might as well go all the way _ . I tore off a section of the already ruined shirt and made a tourniquet. When I was done tying it I was greeted to the not so sweet sensation of something burning on my cut. I jerked my head down to see Bella rubbing some ointment into my wound. After that she proceeded to put one several pink band aids with flowers on them. When she was done it looked like makeshift stitches on a gash. They weren't really doing much but the fact that she tried made me heart flutter. 

She then dragged me off back to the keep to meet one of her friends. Some sweet thing named Stacy. Stacy was quick to catch on, having seen me walk in being dragged by the good arm by Bella and the bad arm dripping blood onto the floor. She used her magic to heal the wound and I thanked her kindly. I decided to keep the band aids on. I kinda liked them. 

When Bella after Bella retired for the night I had a quick heart to heart with myself about the day’s events. Well I’d done my job. Protected Bella and put my life on the line like a good body guard does. Not that this was a typical job like the other ones I've had. Usually my body guarding involves me being the date to some noblemen to a fancy soiree who will inevitably get drunk and think that the date is real and shoot their shot. They all took me as some hired thug and in some cases treated me as if I were no better than some common whore. Something along the lines of “I paid for you.” Then I not so politely remind them that they paid for my security services and promptly terminate the contract. Usually in some way that disturbs the fancy party. This was completely different. I thought she considered me some simple servant. Instead she went out of her way to thank me after we saw Stacy and even treated me herself before that. It was pleasant. I may have been too harsh on my judgment of the hafling. She’s definitely off. Can't really carry a conversation well unless its about her fascination with necromancy. Quick to bore and insatiably curious. She wanders around asking people random questions when not reading. Seems to have a passing interest in what it feels like to be tall as it is one of her go to questions to poor passersby and merchants. But she’s also different from other nobles. The soldiers seem to go out of their way to greet her not because of some deep fear, or tradition but because they want to. While she is oblivious and at times downright rude, it's not out of superiority or lack of respect but because it’s just how she is. 

I rub at the band aids on my arm, covering the faint scar beneath.  _ This job might not be as bad as I thought.  _ Then I remember my shirt. It was one of my favorites. “MOTHERFUCKER”


	4. Day twelve: Temple

Temple volunteered to take the extended shift on the trip to Kenfuzely. He is the only of the group who does not need sleep, and he does not really have a personal life being a machine who follows orders.   
The trip to Kenfuzely was uneventful, as Bella seemed to stick close to him, a behavior he heard from the others that is not normal. Phaele also kept close to him. The majority of the trip was spent with Temple walking with Bella sitting upon one of his broad shoulders and Phaele walking on the opposite side of him. Both women asked him barrages of questions, many of which he could not answer. All of the questions from the two were focused on his artificial life. Phaele’s focusing more on the “artificial” part and Bella’s on the “life” part. Phaele would grill the machine on his inner workings and how he functions, Bella asked questions such as if he was a person put into a robot or some lost soul snagged from eternal rest, forced to live on in a machine. He could give Phaele a general overview but since he was always deactivated during his matinence he could not tell her specifics and he had no answers for Bella. One day he woke up as was given his orders, that is all he remembers.  
When they reached the city he did his job and stuck very close to Bella. Though he was not to only one assigned to her. With her being technically a foreign dignitary, the city guard was alerted to keep a special eye out on her. He also clocked a couple of people who always appeared to show up in the area, he assumed they were undercover guards. Being the tireless machine he was, he had no trouble keeping up with the curious halfling, most of the time being her steed as she would ride his shoulder and point him in the direction she wanted to go.   
They were in town for an unofficial proposal Phaele had for Empress Edelgard, not as 2 members of foreign powers, but as merchants and potential buyers. It was some long heavy cylinder that Temple had a few turns of dragging across the plains on the way to the city. There were 4 of them and there was to be a demonstration later on that day to show their usefulness to the empress.   
At the demonstration they had the 4 things, planted about 100 feet apart, pointed towards the ocean on the docks, Pheale made sure to request that all ships be vacated from the port “just in case.” The plan was to have all of the cylinders activate in quick succession. From left to right. When the first one activated, one side of the contraction exploded and then a followup explosion in the surf.   
It was at this moment that the temple realized, for the first time in the past 8 days, he had lost track of Bella. When he located her he quickly recognized the danger. She was standing in front of the exploding end of one of the cylinders, the farthest to the right. No one had noticed the tiny halfling approach as everyone’s attention was on the farthest left and now on the second to the left. BOOM. The second explosion goes off.   
Temple, for his size and weight, can move surprisingly fast. He reached the halfling in just under 5 seconds. As he got there, the third explosion went off. He has mere seconds to think of a solution.   
His first instinct would have been to destroy the cylinder. It was his specialty after all, be it walls, armaments, objects, his destructive force was unmatched. But he knew he could barely dent the thing as before they had left the keep, Phaele had him assault it with all his might. And he punched 3 dents into one of them, and none of those dents impeded functionality.   
His other claim to fame was his strong build. One which Phaele herself said it could probably rival the destructive power of her creation. Time to put that to the test. The automaton grabbed the halfling and enveloped her in his midsection, making sure not a single part of her was exposed. He never heard the explosion.

` Temple reactivated, much to his surprise. He was in a different location , in some building he didn't not recognize. The first faces he saw were Phaele’s and Bellas’s. The former looked about the same she does usually when at the keep. An absolute mess, but more tired. She looks to not have slept for days. Bella on the other hand still wore her patented blue cloak but the red rings around her eyes suggest a recent bout of tears. Upon recognizing he was activated, Phaele sunk into a chair and seemed to visibly deflate as she relaxed. Meanwhile the halfling flung herself onto the chest of the machine and hung on like her life depended on it. When the machine sat up she started to slip but his last order received kicked in, “protect bella” and he caught her with his arm and put her on his shoulder. Speaking of his arm he looked down at it after situating the halfling in her usual spot. It looked different than it had before. Before it had been a shiny silver metal.Now it was a deep copper colored metal. As was parts of his abdomen and one of his legs below the knee. A weak exclamation came from the corner that Phaele retreated to. Barely above a whisper. 

“I'm the fucking greatest…..”

Temple learned later from Neokan, who came into the room shortly to bring a meal for the 2 girls, that he was destroyed in the explosion. But his body Absorbed the vast majority of the impact. Bella got off with a mild concussion.   
“She actually cried when you wouldnt turn on. I was damn near sure one of the gods would come down and smite me next. She hasn't cried in about 2 decades. Heh, guess she likes you.” the golatith explained while carrying the passed out asamar out of the room and carrying her to her own quarters. One his way out “if you can pry her off of you for a couple of minutes your things are over there.” he pointed to a stand in the corner that had a brand new coat like the one he lost in the explosion. The entire outfit was new except for the hat. “Was the only thing besides your head that survived the explosion.”

“It is incomplete,” the robot commented.  
“It is? What is it missing?” he paused at the door  
“My patch.”  
The goliath chuckled as he exited the room “well that girl on your shoulder is the one who made them, get her to make you another.”


	5. Epilogue

It's been a month and a half now. People have gotten used to the strange halfling and her protectors following her around. They care for her almost as if she was familial and it was not a job. Chidi can be seen slapping unhealthy treats out of Bella's hand whenever she catches her with them, then lecturing her about how they are unhealthy. Ouss can be seen buying those very same sweets and eating them with Bella. It's not hard to miss Temple, as whenever it's one of his days Bella spends the vast majority of her time on his shoulder. The job on the other hand never gets easier. The halfling still disappears from time to time and gets into trouble. Ouss and Chidi regularly have many injuries' and scars lining their bodies from getting their hands dirty. The only visible change is the color of one of his massive hands, but if you were to look under the clothes you would see a patchwork of different metals and colors provided by Phaele for his frequent requests for repairs. While the job certainly isn't easy, the members of the BDF take immense pride in their position and wouldn't trade it for anything. Covered in scrapes, cuts, and even sometimes breaking a few bones, the one thing that all the members (except temple of course) can be seen with a smile on their face during their shifts. 


End file.
